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Will matchup vs. Colts give Packers’ QB Malik Willis chance to let it rip?

Paul Bretl | 9/11/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Oftentimes, when a backup quarterback is in line for the start, the thought can be that we are going to see a more run-heavy and conservative game plan in an effort to limit mistakes and the quarterback being put in disadvantageous situations. However, for the Packers this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, there very well could be the opportunity for Malik Willis to let it rip.

Now, before we go any further, I want to make clear that becoming one-dimensional without of any sort of run game presence is likely not a recipe for success against a Colts’ pass rush–a unit that recorded four sacks and 10 quarterback hits on the Houston Texans’ CJ Stroud in Week 1. As I wrote recently, establishing the run game will be a must for the Packers.

The Colts are coming off a game where they gave up 213 rushing yards to the Texans. With Houston boasting a trio of receivers that features Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell, the Colts opted to use a heavy dose of light boxes to provide additional help to their secondary, a group that has its share of unknowns entering the 2024 season.

Texans’ running back Joe Mixon took advantage of this additional spacing and the blockers that were able to get to the second level with more ease by rushing for 159 yards at over 5.0 yards per carry. The Texans ended up dominating the time of possession, holding the ball for 20 minutes longer than the Colts, and ultimately kept the Colts at bay with two second-half scoring drives that lasted for a combined 14-plus minutes.

The Texans accomplished this success on the ground with a heavy usage of 11 personnel–or three wide receiver alignments. I would anticipate the Packers doing something similar in an effort to spread the Colts out as much as they can, rather than going with two tight end looks, which naturally brings bigger defensive personnel onto the field.

“I think if you look at Indy, again, another very disruptive front,” said Matt LaFleur on Monday. “I’m sure they’re gonna have a big emphasis on stopping the run after Houston ran the ball 40 times on ’em, so they’ll be working hard on that. There’s no doubt about it, which presents another challenge.”

If you’re the Colts, the added emphasis on the running game that LaFleur mentions is likely two-fold. On one hand, after their poor play in Week 1, as would be the case for any team, the focus is going to be on making sure that doesn’t happen again. On top of that, I would guess that they’re game plan will revolve around putting the game in the hands of the inexperienced Willis rather than Josh Jacobs.

This is, however, where the potential opportunity could lie for Willis and the passing game. If the pendulum swings the other direction for the Colts and we see more defenders near the line of scrimmage, that means more one-on-one matchups for the Packers receivers against a secondary where Green Bay will have the advantage matchup-wise, and it might not be particularly close.

In 2023, the Colts’ secondary–featuring several young players that battled inconsistency–ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in explosive pass plays surrendered, as well as in the bottom third of the league in passes defensed and yards per pass attempt allowed.

This season, the Colts returned almost the same exact cornerback room, with the only additions to that unit coming on Day 3 of the draft. GM Chris Ballard, who very much believes in drafting and developing, banked heavily on the internal development of second-year players JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones to elevate the play of that room. Whether that happens, along with the overall depth of that position group, is what the key questions were heading into the season.

Even with the Colts’ usage of lighter boxes against Houston, Stroud was still an efficient 24-for-32 passing, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt, while Collins totaled 117 receiving yards and Diggs had two touchdowns. To make matters even more difficult for the Colts, they will now be without Brents moving forward after he was placed on IR on Tuesday, and strong safety Julian Blackmon was ruled out on Friday.

This leaves Indianapolis with either Dallis Flowers, who is coming off an Achilles injury in 2023 and was a healthy scratch in Week 1, or Sam Womack, who was claimed on waivers following cutdowns and has just over 200 career snaps, to start opposite of Jones at cornerback. At safety, they’ll either move Nick Cross down to the box and start Rodney Thomas at free safety, or elevate Ronnie Harrison from the practice squad to start at strong safety.

So, again, there’s potential opportunity for the Packers through the air in this one. But the big and obvious unknown from the Packers’ perspective is what to expect from Willis. As a former third-round pick now entering his third NFL season, Willis has just 67 career pass attempts, 61 of which came in 2022. He’s completed only 52 percent of those passes at a measly 5.2 yards per attempt with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

And, oh yeah, he’s only been in Green Bay for just over two weeks at this point in time.

“At the end day, the reality is I just got here,” said Willis about the preparation this week, “so it’s gonna be a little bit in overdrive, not as a normal week as if I’ve been here the whole time, but we’re definitely going to be taking it day by day and just doing what we can each day to prepare ourselves for Sunday.”

Despite the ups and downs up to this point in his career, what intrigued GM Brian Gutekunst to make the trade for Willis was the big step forward he took during the preseason. Over those three games with the Titans, Willis completed 74.1 percent of his 27 throws at 7.6 yards per attempt with two touchdowns to one interception, along with rushing for 101 yards at 9.2 yards per carry.

That progress Willis made this summer, and not only in the final numbers he produced but in how he acclimated himself to the new offense and the process component of playing the quarterback position, is what really stood out to Gutekunst. That growth coupled with Willis’ big arm and ability to make plays with his legs are what sparked the Packers’ pursuit.

“I thought this year in particular,” said Gutekunst “and there was a coaching staff change as well, took over the new system, but the way he kind of–his patience, the way he was going through his progressions and able to play from the pocket. When to run, when not to run–those kind of things.

“I thought, again, it’s a short sample size in the preseason, but I thought he did a nice job. Just again, I think his ability to win with his arm and with his legs was something that attracted us to him.”

The challenge for LaFleur from a game-planning perspective will be drawing up a way to take advantage of the Colts’ secondary, but doing so in a way that plays to the strengths of Willis, allowing him to play fast and confident. It goes without saying, but LaFleur shouldn’t be asking Willis to do what he’d ask of Jordan Love. We could see a lot of designed rollouts to get Willis in space and where he can make half-field reads.

As offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said recently, Willis doesn’t have to know the entire playbook to be successful, but what does need to happen is the coaching staff must understand what Willis does well, what his strengths are, and put him in a position where those qualities can be maximized.

“Well I just think every game’s a little bit different and certainly you gotta play to your players’ strengths,” said LaFleur. “So it’s our job to try to come up with whatever we come up with in order to put him in a position to be successful and whether that’s moving launch points or straight dropback, whatever it may be, we always carry play actions every week, so we’ll come up whatever we feel like is gonna give us the best possible opportunity to move the football.”

Of course, the offense is going to look different with Willis under center. However, at the end of the day, the goal when putting together a game plan is to ensure that you’re exploiting the weaknesses of the opponent.

Even without Love, that element doesn’t change, but how exactly the Packers go about doing that with Willis at quarterback will be what is different and how the Colts respond will dictate what the Packers do. Ultimately none of this matters if Willis’ throws are off, but the opportunity for him to find success through the air very well could exist this week.

“We gotta see what they do obviously,” said Stenavich. “The runs you like that you do well, too. It’s just one of those things like all right, as the game goes, you have to have your answers for whatever they’re going to try and do. I’m not gonna be stubborn and pound my head against the wall. If they’re giving us things in the pass game, we gotta be able to take it and we gotta take advantage of it. We have really good wideouts who can make a lot of plays.

“I think as Malik gets more familiar with these guys as the week progresses, he’s building that repertoire and that camaraderie with them that he can trust those guys, like he trusts those guys to go out there and make plays. I’m not gonna say we’re just gonna run the ball. We’re gonna take what the defense gives us and hopefully that’s good enough to beat them.”

Packers run game success established vs. Eagles must be carried over with Malik Willis at QB

Paul Bretl | 9/10/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — It was tough sledding early on for Josh Jacobs and the Packers’ run game against the Philadelphia Eagles. However, in the second half, better execution upfront, and depending on who you ask, a bit of a changeup yielded better results.

This is something that will have to carry forward, particularly with Malik Willis under center.

By halftime of this Week 1 matchup, Jacobs had carried the ball seven times, excluding the two-point conversion attempt, and had totaled only four yards on the ground. In regards to the run game, it was Emanuel Wilson who was keeping the Packers’ head above water, totaling 37 yards on just three attempts.

“I can’t tell you how many times they had linebacker run-throughs that we didn’t block the backer,” said Matt LaFleur on Monday. “It’s hard to get going. Early on in the game, they were doing some line movement and credit to them.

“I didn’t think we adjusted quick enough but I think once we did get our runners going, we blocked their front much better. Give credit to Philly. That’s a really good front. All those guys.”

In the second half, however, like the flip of a switch, things began to turn around on the ground for Jacobs and the Packers. Between the third and fourth quarters, Jacobs had rushes of nine yards, 22 yards, and 32 yards, to give him a grand total of 84 yards with an average of 5.3 yards per rush.

“Yeah just switched up the style of plays in the run game a little bit more and kind of adjusted to some of the things that they were doing that we hadn’t seen on film and we were able to start moving the ball,” said Josh Myers after the game.

But if you ask LaFleur, there wasn’t much of a change at all to what was being asked of the offense in the run game. Instead, it was better execution, particularly in the gap running scheme, which helped slow the Eagles’ defense down.

“Sure we may have tried some different running schemes but that’s almost every game,” LaFleur said. “I think we got the gap-scheme going a little bit and that helped maybe slow down some of their movement. But we run our run schemes. I wouldn’t say it was a massive changeup.”

Regardless of whether it was execution, a changeup to the play calls, or both, the Packers have to make sure they carry that second half momentum in the run game into their Week 2 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts, which will likely feature Malik Willis under center.

A strong running game can be Willis’ best friend as there is a massive positive trickle-down effect to the passing game when things are going right in the ground game.

When an offense has a strong run game to lean–even an offense with an explosive passing game–those two elements together can really put opposing defenses in a bind. It sets up short down-and-distance situations, opening up the playbook for LaFleur, and it forces the defense to either defend the entire field or commit to stopping the run, both of which can open up opportunities in the passing game to be exploited.

Conversely, struggling to pick up yards in the run game puts the offense behind the sticks and in predictable passing situations where the defensive front can pin its ears back the secondary has the advantage in coverage. This will not be a recipe for success for Willis, who has only been in Green Bay for two weeks and has just 67 career regular season pass attempts in two seasons, particularly against a Colts’ defensive front that has the ability to be extremely disruptive when it comes to getting after the quarterback.

The Colts are coming off a game where the Houston Texans dissected them in the run game. Joe Mixon rushed for 159 yards and the Texans offense as a whole rushed for 213 yards. With CJ Stroud at quarterback along with Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell at receiver, the Colts opted to play with lighter boxes, which the Texans took advantage of.

With Willis at quarterback, the Packers may not have that same light box luxury, even with the talent they have at receiver, with the Colts attempting to force Willis to have to be the one to beat them.

On the flip side, what the Packers have in their favor is the unpredictability of having Willis at quarterback, specifically how they potentially pair his ability as a ball carrier with Jacobs, which can stress a defense horizontally, helping to open up running lanes or even opportunities in the passing game.

“Well I just think every game’s a little bit different and certainly you gotta play to your players’ strengths,” LaFleur said of getting Willis ready. “So it’s our job to try to come up with whatever we come up with in order to put him in a position to be successful and whether that’s moving launch points or straight dropback, whatever it may be, we always carry play actions every week, so we’ll come up whatever we feel like is gonna give us the best possible opportunity to move the football.”

As I detailed recently, even with Love, I believe the ceiling for this Packers team will be determined by Jacobs and how potent the run game can be. Now, in Love’s absence, that sentiment goes from being true to an absolute necessity if this offense is going to find success in the coming weeks.

Packers’ rookie LB Edgerrin Cooper earns more snaps following Week 1 flashes

Paul Bretl | 9/10/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers’ rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper had limited opportunities in the team’s Week 1 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. However, he made the most of those snaps, which has Matt LaFleur believing he deserves more.

“It was good to get him out there,” said Matt LaFleur on Monday. “He certainly flashed and made some plays. I would anticipate him getting more time moving forward.”

Cooper was on the field for only 11 snaps. He took over for Eric Wilson as the Will linebacker when the Packers were lined up in their base 4-3 defense. As LaFleur said, Cooper was able to flash, making a few impact plays despite playing a relatively small number of snaps. Cooper finished the game making three tackles, recorded a run stop, and batted a pass.

Beyond the box score, what Cooper was able to showcase was his elite speed, good instincts, and the ability to navigate blockers to get to the ball carrier. However, as is the case with just about any rookie making his NFL debut, there are still some things to clean up as well for Cooper, but overall, it was an impactful performance.

“It wasn’t perfect,” added LaFleur. “It never is and we’ve got to clean up some things and make sure we’re communicating well when we’re out there. If there was a missed alignment, we’ve got 10 other guys on the field that can help him get in the right spot. But it was exciting to see him go out there and play football.”

Before suffering a hip injury that sidelined him for a good portion of training camp, including the preseason, Cooper was rotating in with Wilson as the third linebacker when the Packers were in base. With the second defense, he and Wilson were the two nickel linebackers. In the early going it was clear that Isaiah McDuffie was the second linebacker next to Quay Walker, and Cooper’s injury never gave him the opportunity to challenge him or Wilson for immediate playing time.

While sidelined, Cooper did all the right things to stay up to date with the defensive installs, but there is no replacement for taking what is being learned in the meeting rooms and being able to apply it on the practice field. That element was missing for Cooper while navigating an injury, which led to his reduced role to start the season.

“For him, I think, it’s just getting out there and doing it,” said linebackers coach Anthony Campanile. “He’s been doing a great job in the classroom, in practice. Staying involved as much as he can, I think he’s done a good job. But, obviously, the speed of it, that’s the toughest part for anybody coming back. I think he’s doing a good job of it right now, I do.”

How exactly the Packers plan to get Cooper more reps moving forward remains to be seen. He could become the primary Will linebacker option over Wilson or perhaps when the defense is lined up in nickel and facing a more obvious passing situation, he could come on the field for McDuffie, whose impact is more so felt in the run game. Cooper also brings an added blitzing ability, an area where he found tremendous success in college.

As is the case for any young player, reps–whether they be in games or practice–are extremely valuable, and Cooper, to a degree, has been playing catch-up in that regard because of missed time. But in the albeit small sample size that we’ve seen of him now in-game action, he’s already proven to be deserving of more opportunities–a good sign for a linebacker unit that could use more playmaking.

“Just knowing where I’m at,” said Cooper during training camp when asked about making the jump from college to the NFL. “My eyes. My feet. Just being able to know what’s going on so everything slows down with me. Looking at the sets the offense is in. Just being able to know what’s in front of me.”

Packers have a week to get Malik Willis ready to start at QB

Paul Bretl | 9/9/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers will reportedly be without quarterback Jordan Love for “about three weeks,” as Ian Rapoport put it, with him recovering from an MCL sprain.

Filling in for Love until he returns—whenever that may be—will be Malik Willis said Matt LaFleur on Monday—assuming Love is unable to play.

“I couldn’t give you a percentage,” said Matt LaFleur when asked about the chances of Love playing Sunday, “but if he gets cleared, we’ll give him every opportunity like we always will. I know he’s doing everything in his power.

“I know he’s spending a lot of time trying to get back as soon as possible. But certainly we’re not going to put him in a position where if he can’t protect himself that he’d go out there.

Although Sean Clifford does have more experience in the LaFleur system than Willis, the Packers wouldn’t have named Willis the backup for their Week 1 matchup with Philadelphia if they didn’t believe he couldn’t handle any potential playing time that came his way.

Willis has only been with the Packers for exactly two weeks on Monday after the team acquired him in a trade from the Tennessee Titans for a seventh-round pick prior to roster cuts taking place.

“I think he’s put a lot of time and effort into this thing,” said LaFleur. “He’s grinded, he’s learned the terminology and is able to spit out the play calls, and we’ve got confidence in him. I think if he’s given a full week of preparation, a full week of practice, I’ve got confidence he’ll go out there and perform at a high level.”

The challenge, of course, for Willis during his short time in Green Bay has been getting acclimated to a new offense on the fly and with little runway to get those valuable reps in. Up to the Packers leaving for Brazil last week, there had only been a handful of practices for Willis to take part in.

“It’s kinda just cramming it in and just seeing what he can handle, seeing what he likes, what he’s familiar with and kinda building from there,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. “You don’t have to put the whole playbook in for him, but you can kinda just find out his favorite plays, what he likes to do and go from there as you progress throughout the season.”

Helping Willis navigate this steep and fast moving learning curve is that this is now the fourth offense he’s had to learn in just his third NFL season. While that certainly isn’t ideal when it comes to his development, it has taught Willis how to adjust and do so rather quickly.

There also happens to be overlap between what the Packers are asking of him and what he did initially in Tennessee when he was first drafted by the Titans.

“It’s a lot of carryover,” said Willis at his locker. “It’s like transferring schools but they have a test when you come in and they’ve been studying certain material. I’ve been studying material – it’s NFL football – but it’s different terminology and a different system.

“I’ve been in systems that are more similar than this and there’s a lot of carryover. It’s really just getting those terms together and connecting the dots. It’s not new information so it’s not as much as your perceived notion of it.”

To state the obvious, Willis’ career up to this point hasn’t gone as planned. A former third-round pick, during his first three seasons with the Titans, Willis appeared in 12 games completing only 52 percent of his 67 passes at only 5.2 yards per attempt with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

However, what intrigued GM Brian Gutekunst to make the trade for Willis was the big step forward he took during the preseason. Over those three games with the Titans, Willis completed 74.1 percent of his 27 throws at 7.6 yards per attempt with two touchdowns to one interception, along with rushing for 101 yards at 9.2 yards per carry.

With a new team and a new offense, along with Willis still being an unproven quarterback at the NFL level, LaFleur and his ability as a game-planner is going to have to shoulder quite a bit of the burden when it comes to getting Willis ready to execute as a starter.

As Stenavich said, Willis doesn’t necessarily have to know the ins and outs of the entire playbook at this time, but LaFleur has to put together a manageable game plan that works to Willis’ strengths and puts him in a position to be able to execute on those abilities routinely. Oftentimes it is familiar situations that can lead to fast and confident play.

Not having Love is also going to require some additional heavy lifting from the rest of the Packers’ offense. This means the offensive line giving Willis time in the pocket. It means having a run game to lean to avoid predictable passing situations, along with the pass-catchers creating consistent separation and picking up yards after the catch to help move the ball.

The Packers took a swing and bet on Willis’ traits when making the trade. Now it’s up to LaFleur to get the most out him until Love returns in a few weeks.

“He’s always shown the traits,” said Gutekunst. “He’s a really good athlete. A very strong athlete. Strong arm. Able to make all the throws.”

Tucker Kraft’s well-rounded skill set makes him Packers top option at TE

Paul Bretl | 9/9/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — One of the more interesting developments to come out of the Packers’ Week 1 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles came at the tight end position, where Tucker Kraft not only out-snapped Luke Musgrave, but it wasn’t even close.

Of the Packers’ 67 total offensive plays on Friday, Kraft was on the field for 64 of them–or 96 percent. Musgrave, meanwhile, played just 17 snaps on offense–or 25 percent of the plays.

Watching how the reps were divided among Musgrave and Kraft during the team’s training camp practices, you wouldn’t have known this was coming. However, in regards to their performances, well, that was more telling.

It didn’t take Kraft long to reacclimate himself back to the offense after returning to team drills following a pectoral injury that sidelined him during offseason programs and the first part of training camp. During the final week of training camp, which included a joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens, Kraft had several receptions and routinely showcased that yards after the catch ability he possesses.

Musgrave, on the other hand, had what would be categorized as a quiet training camp. His opportunities in the passing game were sporadic, we rarely saw that field stretching ability on display, and he didn’t have a practice like Kraft did that final week where he was one of the standout performers.

Tight ends coach John Dunn was asked about Musgrave’s slower start to training camp but chalked it up to being in the install phase rather than the game-planning phase, where more opportunities can be manufactured.

“Well, you know, camp is a little different then game planning and stuff,” said Dunn. “And so you’re going through your installs and you’re doing things and production from a tight end is–the easy part is did he catch a ball, right? And it’s a three phase deal for tight ends in terms of run game, protection, obviously the pass game and there’s subtle things that we get better at that might not show up because, you know, it could even be running a route better but the coverage didn’t dictate the ball going there.

“I don’t think that’s a product of anything other than, you know, it’s camp and those opportunities will come. These guys are working their tales off. So whether it’s didn’t have as many or anything, like there’s no–there’s nothing to it.”

As Dunn mentions, there is more to playing the tight end position than just the plays made in the passing game. He refers to it as a three-phase position, with pass-catching, run-blocking, and pass protection the three elements where a tight end can make an impact.

Although Kraft made a greater impact in the passing game during those final training camp practices, ultimately, the snap count difference in Week 1 likely came down to him being the more well-rounded player at the position. Musgrave can bring a field-stretching ability to the tight end position, while Kraft has shined with the ball in his hands. However, when it comes to blocking, Kraft has a distinct advantage.

“I think he’s a complete tight end and I think he’s only scratching the surface of what he’s capable of doing,” said Matt LaFleur during camp. “I think when you look back last year, I mean it’s night and day from where he is now from where he was at this time. Just the familiarity with the offense, the confidence I would say from going out there and playing at a high level, so we’re excited to get him back in the fold.”

Kraft’s role during his rookie year began relatively small, as he was often used as a blocker, averaging just over 12 snaps per game through five weeks. However, as Kraft got more acclimated, his role began to expand before he was regularly playing 80-plus percent of the offensive snaps following Luke Musgrave’s kidney injury in Week 11, and tasked with impacting the passing game as well.

From Week 12 on, Kraft caught 28 of his 36 targets for 327 yards and two touchdowns. During that span, Kraft ranked 10th among tight ends in targets, eighth in yards and was sixth in YAC.

“Well, I just, really I just took what opportunity I had and I ran with it,” said Kraft about his rookie season. “There was a point in the season last year where I had to look myself in the mirror and say if I’m only going to get opportunities to run block and pass pro then I’m going to be the best on our team in run block and pass pro.

“So those opportunities carried through three weeks and my career changed with a flat route. I didn’t have to have a coach try to get me open, I got myself open. Caught a ball in the flat, turned up and I stepped out of bounds, but it was a play that was able to highlight my athleticism and the potential that I could–the impact that I could make in this offense.”

Having a tight end who is capable as both a run blocker and a pass catcher can do wonders for an offense, specifically for Matt LaFleur has the play-caller, as having that element helps open up the playbook for him from a creativity standpoint.

A tight end with these capabilities adds a layer of unpredictability to the offense. Pre-snap, defenses can’t decipher as easily whether a run or pass is coming simply based on where the tight ends are lined up. Opponents are then forced to respect both the run and the pass on any given play, thus having to defend the entire field, which creates better spacing, and opportunities for not only the tight end but the other skill position players within the offense.

“I set a precedent for myself,” Kraft said during training camp, “a large goal of mine this year, I want to be the best tight end in the outside zone. That’s a huge ask, especially in our offense, and I want people to feel confident putting me out there to pass protect, putting me out there to run block, putting me out there to run routes.

“So I want to get back to playing with an edge again and I think that the next two weeks will allow me to do that. I’m going to just come out every snap and if I don’t feel like I can put my best competitive effort forward then I’m going to let the staff know and we’ll be on the same page. But as far as I’m concerned I feel great. We’re in this ramp up period right and just very excited to get back on the field completely.”

Against the Eagles, Kraft hauled in both of his targets in the passing game for 37 yards with 30 of those yards coming after the catch. And with 31 of his 64 snaps coming as a blocker, in both the run and passing games, he graded out quite well by PFF’s metrics.

Now, the thing to be mindful of is that each week, the discrepancy between Kraft and Musgrave in the snap count category may not be this massive. What the game plan calls for based on the opponent is going to determine how many opportunities each player gets. But with that said, given Kraft’s ability to impact the game in a variety of ways, while we may never know who the Packers’ top option at receiver is, we have that answer at tight end.

Packers’ attacking defensive front stifled by Eagles’ OL

Paul Bretl | 9/7/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The honeymoon phase with Jeff Hafley as the Packers new defensive coordinator has come to an end. The regular season is here and ultimately all that matters are the results.

In the team’s Week 1 opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, against an admittedly very difficult opponent that can hurt opposing defenses in a variety of ways, the results weren’t there for the Packers’ defense. Those overall struggles started with an inability to apply consistent pressure.

“It felt like Jalen had a lot of time to throw the football,” said Matt LaFleur post-game, “and I think anytime that you don’t get a pass rush–and again, that is a really good offensive line, I just expected more from our pass rush tonight. And then you know when we did bring pressure there were a lot of times when it looked like guys were uncovered. We had some mistakes.”

As a unit, the Eagles offensive line was credited with surrendering only nine pressures the entire game, per PFF. That’s a pressure rate on Hurts of just over 23 percent–which for an offensive line, anything under 30 percent is a good day. Even when the Packers sent some blitzes, which they did from both the linebacker and nickel positions, those pressures didn’t get home quick enough, and as LaFleur mentioned, coverages were blown on the back end in several of those instances.

A lack of consistent pressure against this Eagles’ offense is certainly not a recipe for success. Not that the Packers’ secondary didn’t have it’s own miscues, but asking the cornerbacks and safeties to have to routinely defend AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith for three-plus seconds is a tall task for really any unit–and the results reflected that.

The duo of Brown and Smith combined for 12 receptions on 18 targets for 213 yards, including a few explosive pass plays, and one touchdown.

The Packers understandable concern with keeping Hurts in the pocket contributed to their pass rush approach. For the most part, they were able to limit Hurts’ opportunities outside the pocket, but the potential cost was a lackluster pass rush. And that’s the challenge that this Eagles’ offense brings to the table–you try to take away one avenue, and they can beat you another way.

“I mean our plan was to keep him in the pocket and let him beat us with his arm,” said Kenny Clark. “A lot of our rushes were power rushes trying to contain him, not try to get too crazy with our rushes and get too much up field. We limited probably until the fourth quarter. We still gotta get pressure on him in some kind of way.”

Contributing to the Packers’ issues on defense was their play against the run, which again, was no easy task against a backfield featuring Hurts and Saquon Barkley. Early on, the Packers were able to bottle up Barkley, but the Eagles featured him heavily, and as the game went on, he found more success. Barkley finished the contest carrying the ball 24 times, totaling 109 yards at 4.5 yards per attempt.

The trickle-down effect of not being able to slow the run game is that the offense is often able to stay ahead of the sticks, putting them in short down-and-distance situations, where the defense now has to essentially defend the entire field and be prepared for either a run or a passing play. In short, the offense has a distinct advantage in these situations.

“I gotta go back and watch the tape,” Rashan Gary said. “I gotta see how much they rushed for. He’s always been a good back. Been hitting the holes and Saquon is Saquon.”

Throughout training camp, we heard a lot about this new attack style defensive front under Hafley, where the objective is to get off the ball and into the backfield, an approach that suited so many of these Packers’ defenders well, and played to one of the strengths of the collective unit which is its depth. And it’s not as if it was only talk, in practices, particularly the joint practice with Baltimore, that disruption was on full display.

However, the Packers’ defensive front was up against a dynamic offense that featured one of the better offensive lines in football–a unit that ended up doing just about all of the dictating. One good performance or one bad performance in the first game isn’t an indicator of what the season will be, but the Packers will have to be more disruptive moving forward.

Instant takeaways from Packers Week 1 loss to Eagles

Paul Bretl | 9/6/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Ultimately there were too many miscues and missed opportunities that the Packers had to overcome in what became a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, all that matters at this time is Jordan Love’s health.

As always, and now for the first time during the 2024 regular season, here are my instant takeaways from the Packers’ performance.

Win or lose, the No. 1 priority is Love’s health after he exited the game with an apparent lower leg injury. When Matt LaFleur was asked post-game about Love’s injury, he did not have an update at that time.

“I don’t know,” said LaFleur afterward when asked about Love.

Missed opportunities. At the end of the day, there were too many missed opportunities by the Packers. The offense was just 1-for-4 in the red zone. While the defense forced three turnovers, the Packers scored only nine points off those. Contributing to those missed opportunities were penalties. In total, the Packers were flagged 10 times in this game.

“All of us are responsible – myself, it starts with me, it goes down to our staff and then to our players,” LaFleur said. “I challenged everybody. We’ve got to learn from this because, just watching the tape, and I’m not trying to take anything away from Philly – they battled and they played their game – but I think there was a lot of opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on.

“When you don’t do that, you get beat. Specifically, the red area was a huge problem tonight. I would say a year ago we were pretty damned good in that area and we got destroyed in that area tonight.”

Overall, and this can be the case in Week 1, there was rust to shake off. Love completed 50 percent of his passes, including some off-target and off-balanced throws. There were what looked like some dropped passes as well and, in general, the offense could never quite find a consistent rhythm. The defense, meanwhile, was playing in its new system for the first time against a high powered Eagles offense, and that showed.

“It was definitely a sloppy game, I think, from us,” said LaFleur. “There was some uncharacteristic things that we did as a staff, quite frankly, and that trickled down to our players. So, ultimately, we’ve all got to look ourselves hard in the mirror and find ways to get better because tonight, obviously, wasn’t good enough.”

Rotation at right guard. Sean Rhyan took the bulk of the right guard snaps, as expected, but the Packers also had rookie Jordan Morgan worked in every few series as well. As I wrote about earlier in the week, this always felt like the path the Packers were going to go down as it gave Morgan an opportunity to get live reps after missing the entire preseason without having to put it all on his plate.

The offensive line play wasn’t good enough, particularly against the run. After a slow start for Josh Jacobs, the offensive line started to carve some more running lanes for him after halftime. Where the offensive line did struggle was in the red zone–a more condensed part of the field. Where they found some success on the ground was when the offense had the ability to spread the Eagles out, along with using Rhyan as a pulling guard from the right to left side. Without a consistent run game to lean on, it made moving the ball more difficult because of playing behind the sticks and then being in predictable passing situations.

“They was just shooting the gaps,” said Josh Jacobs. “They had a great game plan for the calls that we was calling and once we made adjustments, we kinda did a little better.”

We are going to see a lot of two tight end sets this season, but Tucker Kraft seemed to out-snap Luke Musgrave by quite a bit. Kraft is likely considered the more well-rounded of the two, able to impact both the run and passing games.

For the most part, the Packers defensive front did well containing Jalen Hurts and not letting him get outside the pocket to create many big plays. However, against a stout Eagles’ offensive line, the pressure on Hurst from the Packers front wasn’t all that consistent. We also saw Jeff Hafley send a number of linebacker and nickel cornerback blitzes, but they weren’t all that effective for the most part.

The honeymoon phase is over for Hafley and the new defense. One game–whether it was good or bad–wouldn’t make or break what this 2024 Packers’ defense can be, but against a very good Eagles’ offense that can win on the ground or through the air, they were able to spread the Packers out at times and take advantage of that spacing. Inconsistent pressure plus having to cover AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith resulted in some big passing plays. Missed tackles didn’t help things either.

“I think we’ve just got to be better all around the board execution-wise,” Xavier McKinney said. “I don’t think we, I really don’t think we executed well today and we kind of gave up just little things that, it was like, very uncharacteristic from us. So, we’ve just got to be better all around the board, myself included. So, like I said, we’ll get it fixed once we watch the film and be critical of ourselves, we kind of already know what we could have been better with.”

Coming into the season, the linebacker unit seemed to be the big positional question mark for the Packers and that group took some lumps in this performance. Playing mostly from nickel, Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie played the bulk of the snaps with Eric Wilson the Will linebacker in base–which we saw all of training camp. Edgerrin Cooper saw a few defensive snaps and flashed his speed.

A positive for the defense is that the Packers forced three turnovers, two of which were interceptions. The Packers came away with only seven interceptions in all of 2023. They also were able to get off the field on third downs with the Eagles converting only four of their 14 attempts.

“I thought our defense, to force three takeaways against a really good offense, I feel like you should win the game,” LaFleur said. “The stats will tell you it’s about 90 percent win ratio when you have plus-2 on the ball, but we didn’t capitalize on those opportunities. To come away with nine points off three turnovers, that’s not good enough. That’s not going to get it done.

“Do I think we need to play better defensively? Absolutely. We can’t give up 30-some-odd points a game (garbled audio). That’s usually a recipe for disaster. When I look at it, I think it’s a collective loss.”

With all of the options on offense that the Packers have, we saw a healthy variety of formations and play calls from Matt LaFleur. Jayden Reed led the team in receiving with 105 yards. Reed very much came on strong at the end of training camp, and don’t forget, he led the team in receptions and yards through the 2023 regular season. His speed coupled with how LaFleur uses him in motion makes him a difficult matchup, and he draws a lot of one-on-one matchups with help from the other Green Bay pass catchers.

“Man, with this room,” said Jayden Reed, “it’s any given week, anybody can make those plays I made today in the room. So we’re very dynamic in that room, so I don’t look at it as a wide receiver 1 thing. I think we all are 1s if you ask me.”

Brayden Narveson was 3-for-4 on field goal attempts in his debut and 2-for-2 on extra points. This one game with a miss isn’t going to end Narveson’s tenure with the Packers, but GM Brian Gutekunst did mention that he doesn’t have the patience that he probably needs when it comes to specialists. The Packers know the opportunity in front of them this season and have to get the kicker position correct.

Josh Jacobs’ success a must for Super Bowl hopeful Packers

Paul Bretl | 9/5/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A bounce back season from new Packers’ running back Josh Jacobs feels like a near-must for a team with Super Bowl aspirations in 2024.

With Jordan Love at quarterback, two dynamic tight ends, and six receivers that at any point could be called upon to come up with a big play, the Packers’ offense is going to be good this season. How good, however, I believe will be determined by the play of Jacobs this season.

While Love and the passing game stole the show during the second half of the season, particularly during the Packers’ playoff push and into the playoffs, an elevated running game over those five five games played a key contributor to the overall offense’s success.

From Week 16 through the NFC Divisional round, Aaron Jones rushed for over 100 yards in each of those five games, which included three touchdowns and an impressive 5.7 yards per attempt.

When an offense has a strong run game to lean–even an offense with an explosive passing game–those two elements together can really put opposing defenses in a bind. It sets up short down-and-distance situations, opening up the playbook for Matt LaFleur, and it forces the defense to either defend the entire field or commit to stopping the run, both of which can open up opportunities in the passing game to be exploited.

“I think it just helps open up more things downfield,” said Jordan Love of the run game last season. “Just being able to lean on that run game and just know that we are going to pound out those yards, just keep pushing the ball downfield and I think it’s demoralizing for the defense being able to run the ball.”

Again, if there is a week where picking up yards on the ground isn’t coming easily, the Packers certainly have the talent elsewhere on offense to overcome that. But for the long-term success of this team, including into the playoffs, a steady and reliable run game led by Jacobs will be crucial.

Just one season after being the NFL’s rushing leader in 2022 when Jacobs totaled 1,653 yards on the ground, his production dipped last season. Jacobs finished 2023 with 805 yards at only 3.5 yards per attempt.

As is often the case, there were several factors in play that contributed to his down year. One of which was that Jacobs dealt with injuries, appearing in only 13 games. Jacobs’ offseason last year was also outside of the norm, as he held out during training camp after being franchise-tagged, with a reworked deal not getting done until August 26th. In addition to all of that, the Raiders’ offense could never gain consistent traction either.

Fully healthy this offseason, along with having his contract situation in order, gives Jacobs a leg up compared to this time last year. But the added help around him in the Packers’ offense also contributes to what hopefully becomes a bounce-back season.

Behind the Packers’ offensive line, Green Bay ranked top-10 in yards per carry as a team last season. On top of that, the potential that this Packers’ passing game has with Jordan Love under center and the playmakers at receiver and tight end around him could result in fewer eight-man boxes that Jacobs will have to contend with.

“It helps me a lot,” said Jacobs of the playmakers around him. “Being a running back, obviously (having) guys you have to respect on the outside, it makes my job easier because I’m not facing heavier boxes all the time.

“It also makes my job easier because any given play these guys can create a big play. It makes a lot harder to defend. When you have a special quarterback like Jordan and the way that he plays and the throws that he’s able to make, I think it all goes hand-in-hand with everything. I’m just excited.”

There is also something to be said for playing in Matt LaFleur’s offense, which keeps defenses off-balanced through a variety of looks and provides the running back position with one-on-one opportunities.

“The thing that I like the most is how diverse it is—especially for me,” said Jacobs of LaFleur’s offense. “Like, we can line up wide, we can do dual backs, they have certain packages of personnel that allow me to win, put me in space and be able to win in space. And as a running back that’s all you ask for, get your 1-on-1 matchups and that’s where you can show how special you are.”

At least for the time being, uncertainty at the backup running back role is going to put more on Jacobs’ plate as well. MarShawn Lloyd is still working his way back from a hamstring injury and his status for Friday’s game is up in the air. Emanuel Wilson, meanwhile, also popped up on the injury report this week with a hip injury.

Even if both are available, there are still some unknowns. As an incoming rookie, Lloyd has missed a lot of practice time this summer, and while he is comfortable with the playbook, there’s a big difference between learning it in the class room and applying it on the football field. With Wilson, he’s “still got a ways to go,” as Adam Stenavich put it, in regards to his ability in pass protection.

So for Jacobs, this potentially means handling a heavy workload as the team’s lead back, but that is a role he has previously filled and is very comfortable doing.

“That’s the one thing about Josh, like you just said, what’s nice is he’s been in those roles where you can really lean on him in the run game and everything else,” said Stenavich. “He’s used to that.”

Packers’ CB Eric Stokes preparing to be tested early vs. Eagles’ passing game

Paul Bretl | 9/4/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — In the Packers’ Week 1 regular season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, cornerback Eric Stokes is preparing to be tested early and often in the passing game.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Stokes when asked if he will be targeted early. “I mean, you’ve got Jaire on the other side, of course you’re expecting the ball to come your way.”

Over the previous two seasons, Stokes has appeared in just 12 total games. His 2022 season was cut short due to a Lisfranc injury in Week 9. Then last season, early on he was still recovering from that injury and also dealt with hamstring injuries as well, appearing in only three games.

The 110 defensive snaps that Stokes played in 2023 is far too small of a sample size to glean anything from. In 2022, prior to the injury, Stokes was struggling, having allowed 21 completions on 25 targets at 13.1 yards per catch with no pass breakups or interceptions.

However, following a full healthy offseason where Stokes did not miss any practice time, the goal is to regain the form that he displayed during his rookie season. That year, Stokes gave up just 49 completions on 96 targets (51%) with nine pass breakups and an interception.

“Man, I feel great,” said Stokes. “You know when you’re dealing with Jaire on one side, you already know the other side is going to come with a lot of fire, so it just gives me more opportunity to show what I got, show what I can showcase and all that stuff. And then hey, everything else is going to happen for itself.”

Along with wide receiver Christian Watson, the Packers sent Stokes to UW-Madison as well at the start of the offseason, to get to the root of his soft tissue issues. To summarize, a conversation with Stokes’ from earlier in the offseason, with his foot not at full strength, that put a heavier workload on his calf and hamstring, which contributed to the soft tissue injuries. So this offseason, the focus for Stokes has been on strengthening his foot and the areas around it.

“Went through so much stuff this offseason,” Stokes said, “pretty much changed a lot of things, a lot of things different that me and my trainer did back home and give him so much kudos because of the things I still do today, I still a lot of stuff before practice. In the morning when I get here, there’s a lot of small stuff that I do just to make sure my body feels good.”

The Eagles’ offense has the ability to hurt opposing defenses both on the ground and through the air. At wide receiver is the dynamic duo of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, who combined for 187 receptions and over 2,500 receiving yards in 2023. There is also the added wrinkle of Philadelphia having a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore, which means the potential for even more unscouted looks than what might be the typical norm that comes during Week 1.

With a revamped safety position led by Xavier McKinney, the Packers cornerbacks will have some additional help over the top. But with the challenge that the Eagles’ offense poses on the ground, there are going to be times when Stokes is one his own against either Brown or Smith.

It’s a challenge, however, that Stokes is excited to undertake. For one, after dealing with injuries for two seasons, he’s thrilled to be healthy and able to play Week 1. But in addition to that, Stokes put together a strong training camp performance. We know the speed he brings to the cornerback position, but defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has also praised Stokes for the physicality he’s played with as well.

“Man, it’s going to be so good,” said Stokes. “Just don’t understand how happy just to be back out there, knowing everything I’ve been through, knowing there’s so much stuff that I’ve went through these past, pretty much, two years, it’s going to be unbelievable.”

Truly containing the Philadelphia offense will be a very tall task and perhaps one that cannot be accomplished, given that they have a variety of ways to hurt opposing defenses. But whether it be on the ground or through the air, the Packers have to find a way to limit one of those elements because if the Eagles are able to marry the two together and find success in both, that is when the challenge moves from difficult to nearly impossible.

“You always gotta have that confidence, but you already know the type of test they have over there,” added Stokes. “They got some firepower and all that stuff. Again, we’re trying set a championship defense around here. We’re trying to be known as a defensive team. Whenever they think about the Packers, they think about the defense. It’s gonna start Friday night. Friday night is another test to show everybody.”

Packers new look run defense put to test right away vs. Eagles

Paul Bretl | 9/3/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The new look Packers’ defense under defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is going to be put to the test right away against a Philadelphia Eagles’ offense that packs a lot of fire power in their backfield.

Under center is quarterback Jalen Hurts, who on his own, rushed for 602 yards in 2023. But joining him is former New York Giants’ running back Saquon Barkley, along with Kenneth Gainwell.

“It’s like I said a few years ago when we were playing Russ (Wilson), Jalen is like the fastest chicken in the yard with no fence. It’s going to be hard to contain him, but it’s the task we’ve set out to do,” said Preston Smith. “We gotta make sure we don’t let him get comfortable and don’t let him have a big game again.”

Barkley has rushed for nearly 2,300 yards combined over the last two seasons. Former teammate Xavier McKinney noted Barkley’s dynamic ability with the ball and that he can do pretty much everything you would want a running back to do. Gainwell, meanwhile, would average 4.3 yards per carry with the Eagles in 2023, and the offense as a whole–pre-Barkley–ranked ninth in rushing yards per game in 2023.

Beyond the dynamic playmaking abilities that the Eagles’ backfield boasts, of course contributing to their success is a very stout offensive line, one that Matt LaFleur believes has consistently been the best in football over the last several years.

“I think Philly over the course of the year, especially in the last handful of years, five years or so, have had one of the best offensive lines in the game of football,” said LaFleur on Monday. “And I know they obviously, losing Kelce is a, that’s a tough guy to replace. But they’re just, they had five guys that can start on most teams. So it’s going to be a good challenge for our defense for sure.”

A key element in Hafley’s potential turnaround of this Packers’ defense will be improved play against the run. Last season, the Packers allowed 4.5 yards per carry on the year–the eighth-highest rate in football–and four games of 200-plus yards on the ground by an opponent–the most in football.

Finding a way to slow an opponent’s running game does wonders for the rest of the defense. It puts the offense in long down-and-distances and therefore predictable passing situations, where the pass rush can pin its ears back and the secondary has the advantage a the coverage standpoint.

We’ve heard a lot this offseason about the attacking, get off the ball and go get the quarterback play-style that the defense will have under Hafley. In the team’s joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens, we saw the havoc that can have on the quarterback in the passing game, but how does that play-style fare against the run?

No defensive scheme is perfect, otherwise every team would be running the same style of defense. There are pros and cons to every system. In theory, the potential downside of getting upfield as quickly as possible can create running lanes for an offense to exploit or opportunities to get to the boundary.

To counter this, gap integrity will, as always, remain crucial, along with the ability to flow with the gap as it moves. In addition to that, the play of the defenders at the second level to fill any gaps that do appear will be paramount as well.

“Typically what we’re trying to do is get guys in the backfield to own their gap through their man,” said defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich. “So if they’re aligned as 3-technique on the outside part of the guard, it’s his job as you go through the outside part of that guard and own the B-gap in between the outside part of the guard and the inside part of the tackle.

“So wherever that gap moves he’s gotta move a along it and then that allows the guys behind it to obviously scrape, get over top, get downhill, and fill the gaps that they have to fill.”

An added wrinkle that the Packers will also have to contend with–and this goes both ways with Hafley in his first season as defensive coordinator–is that the Eagles have a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore, and therefore a new offense, with relatively little tape to study since no regular season games have been played. How exactly the Eagles will want to attack this Packers’ defense in the run game is even less clear than what it normally might be.

“It’s always tough,” said Smith of the unscouted looks, “because I think they’ve got a new coordinator with Kellen Moore, and they’re going to come out with some different plays and maybe a different system to what they’ve been running. A lot of plays we’ve seen on film they run from last year they like to run. We know this year there’s going to be some looks we haven’t seen. We just have to stay together, play our technique, and make sure that we execute at a high level and do our job to the best of our ability.

“It’s never going to be a game where everything goes the way you want it to go. But we have to make sure that the plays that we do have an opportunity to make, that we make those plays, and when we see unscouted looks we adjust properly.”

In addition to the Eagles’ playmaking abilities in the run game, they have plenty of talent in the passing game as well. At receiver is the dynamic duo of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. The two combined for 187 receptions in 2023 and over 2,500 receiving yards. Also not to be forgotten about is tight end Dallas Goedert, who has averaged almost 600 receiving yards per year over his six NFL seasons.

Truly stopping the Eagles’ run game probably isn’t a realistic expectation for the Packers, or any defense for that matter. But finding a way to slow them down feels like a near must. If the Packers are unable to do that, and the Eagles can marry the run and passing games together, finding any sort of success defensively becomes a much more challenging task.

“I feel like we’ve got a great run scheme, great defensive front and great coaches,” added Smith. “The scheme we got is pretty great to help us stop the run. We just gotta go out there and showcase it. You can work on things all year long, and if you don’t showcase it, if you don’t play it right, then it’s not going to actually show what you’ve been working on. So I think this first game it’s going to show us what we’ve been working on, show our keys and show how great of a run defense we can be.”